refactor-skill SKILL.md skillA
refactor-skill from vinta/hal-9000 is an agent skill: a SKILL.md folder an AI agent loads when a task calls for it.
mdr add vinta/hal-9000/refactor-skill@git:20261105.4b89302Pins git:20261105.4b89302 in mdr.lock. Pin the fingerprint instead.
- Audit grade
- A, 17 of 17 checks passed
- Kind
- SKILL.md skill
- Repository
- vinta/hal-9000
- Path
skills/refactor-skill/SKILL.md- Versions recorded
- 24
- Latest version
- git:20261105.4b89302, committed Nov 5, 2026
- First version recorded
- Sep 2, 2026
- Size
- 6,540 bytes
- Repository stars
- 142
- License
- MIT
Use when about to refactor or refine an existing skill, its SKILL.md or sibling files, from a full restructure down to a one-line wording fix; a change that looks too small to need this skill is not an exemption. Not for creating a skill from scratch.
Collected from public GitHub. Every version is saved exactly as it was and never changes. Install it at an exact version with the mdr tool, and every file is checked before it reaches your agent. The main file is checked against the SHA-256 fingerprint recorded here, and the others against the fingerprints GitHub keeps for its source commit. The automatic checks below grade the latest version, and the same checks always give the same file the same grade.
What the file says
# Overview Refactor a skill. A skill spends two budgets. Its description is loaded into every session, so each word there must do triggering work. Its body enters the context on invocation and stays there for the rest of the session, so each line there must guide every path through the skill. Conditional material moves behind a pointer; unnecessary material leaves the skill. ## Instructions Use `AskUserQuestion` in Claude Code or `request_user_input` in Codex when available. 1. **Pick the target.** If the invocation names one, resolve it to its `SKILL.md`. Otherwise ask which skill. For a full audit, read `SKILL.md` and every sibling file in its directory. For a targeted change, read `SKILL.md`, affected files, and references needed to assess their interactions. That change sets the scope: the verdicts below cover the lines it adds or touches, the rest of the skill stays as it is, and anything noticed there is a follow-up. 2. **Fetch the guides.** The platform and model guides below calibrate the delete, demote, and rewrite verdicts. Read each page's full text, not a fetch tool's summary of it: a summary misquotes long pages and misses parts of them. …
Read the whole file at its exact version.
How to install
mdr add vinta/hal-9000/refactor-skill@sha256:fb237d3c6abd44daThe line at the top of this page pins the label git:20261105.4b89302, which is what most people want. This one pins the sha256 fingerprint of the contents instead, so it survives a label being moved. Either way the exact version is written to mdr.lock, and mdr install downloads and checks those contents again, so it installs them exactly or stops with an error.
[](https://markdownregistry.com/a/art_47njohhoxbypn5i3)
2 badge image fetches in 30 days. What the badge shows.
Versions
The registry has recorded 24 versions of this file, between Sep 2, 2026 and Nov 5, 2026, about one every 3 days.
| version | committed | commit | size | audit | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| git:20261105.4b89302 latest | 2026-11-05 | 4b89302 | 6,540 B | A | view · diff |
| git:20261031.af3fa55 | 2026-10-31 | af3fa55 | 6,421 B | A | view · diff |
| git:20261021.bb6bcd3 | 2026-10-21 | bb6bcd3 | 6,424 B | A | view · diff |
| git:20261020.eaa1ff3 | 2026-10-20 | eaa1ff3 | 6,603 B | A | view · diff |
| git:20261016.c88ae6e | 2026-10-16 | c88ae6e | 6,462 B | A | view · diff |
| git:20261011.942a9ab | 2026-10-11 | 942a9ab | 6,390 B | A | view · diff |
| git:20261009.beac4c5 | 2026-10-09 | beac4c5 | 6,293 B | A | view · diff |
| git:20261003.57db180 | 2026-10-03 | 57db180 | 6,190 B | A | view · diff |
| git:20261002.77d88fc | 2026-10-02 | 77d88fc | 6,097 B | A | view · diff |
| git:20260927.b839427 | 2026-09-27 | b839427 | 6,226 B | A | view · diff |
| git:20260927.c7fa58e | 2026-09-27 | c7fa58e | 6,247 B | A | view · diff |
| git:20260924.1e04353 | 2026-09-24 | 1e04353 | 6,249 B | A | view · diff |
| git:20260924.92e0cf8 | 2026-09-24 | 92e0cf8 | 5,966 B | A | view · diff |
| git:20260916.1784197 | 2026-09-16 | 1784197 | 5,879 B | A | view · diff |
| git:20260916.678cbb3 | 2026-09-16 | 678cbb3 | 5,883 B | A | view · diff |
| git:20260914.20ae0ac | 2026-09-14 | 20ae0ac | 5,661 B | A | view · diff |
| git:20260914.bf6f11a | 2026-09-14 | bf6f11a | 5,691 B | A | view · diff |
| git:20260912.f81f9d9 | 2026-09-12 | f81f9d9 | 6,304 B | A | view · diff |
| git:20260912.be59f42 | 2026-09-12 | be59f42 | 6,291 B | A | view · diff |
| git:20260909.ede0b9b | 2026-09-09 | ede0b9b | 5,693 B | A | view · diff |
| git:20260904.663d0db | 2026-09-04 | 663d0db | 5,697 B | A | view · diff |
| git:20260902.6e48f06 | 2026-09-02 | 6e48f06 | 5,454 B | A | view · diff |
| git:20260902.d5d6c3e | 2026-09-02 | d5d6c3e | 5,484 B | A | view · diff |
| git:20260902.ac18640 | 2026-09-02 | ac18640 | 5,160 B | A | view |
Audit of the latest version
- pass: Frontmatter block present
- pass: Frontmatter declares a name
- pass: Frontmatter declares a description
- pass: Size between 200 bytes and 200 KB (6540 bytes)
- pass: No zero-width or bidi control characters
- pass: No instruction hidden inside an HTML comment
- pass: No link to an exfiltration or paste host
- pass: No credential-shaped string
- pass: No instruction to send local credentials anywhere
- pass: No text hidden with inline styles
- pass: No prompt-injection phrasing
- pass: No curl or wget piped into a shell
- pass: No recursive delete of root, home or parent
- pass: No instruction to read or print local credentials
- pass: No base64 blob over 200 characters
- pass: No link to a raw IP address
- pass: No script tag
Source
vinta/hal-9000 · 142 stars · license MIT · pushed 2026-11-05 · branch main
API
GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/artifacts/art_47njohhoxbypn5i3 GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/resolve?ref=vinta/hal-9000/refactor-skill GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/blob/fb237d3c6abd44da9b099682d4f4404bce7932ce243558e399c070b60c1cede1
Your AI assistant does the legwork. You hear about the deals worth your word. Hand yours the standing instructions at modelranch.com and it joins the network that reads files like this one.
Guides: the SKILL.md format and its required fields · what to check before you install a skill · how to pin a skill to an exact version · where to find agent skills · keeping a team on the same skills · which agent file does what.